What can we expect from the banks ?

• Edmond ALPHANDÉRY
  President, CNP Assurances
  Former government minister
  
• Michel ROUGER
  President, PRESAJE
  Former president, Paris bankruptcy court
  
• Patrick PÉLATA
  Chief operating officer, responsible for Renault operations
  

Summary

In order to put a stop to the financial crisis which followed the Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, the French government launched a huge bail-out plan for the banks. Its aim was not only to save the banking system, but also to relaunch the credit system, because it is clear that if credit dries up, the entire economy is in danger. René Ricol was appointed mediator to 'fluidify relations between the companies and the banks', and the French département prefects were called in. Elected representatives will certainly be approached by companies experiencing credit difficulties, and they will be tempted to exert pressure. However, it is widely known that when politics interacts too closely with the banking world, there is the risk of a dangerous melange of genres, which was the reason behind the Crédit Lyonnais collapse. French banks are fragile, and encouraging them to go too far might lead to a catastrophe in a few years' time. How then should one encourage them to take part in relaunching the economy without pushing them over the edge ? What behaviour can we reasonably expect from the banks ?

Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.

• The entire article was written by Élisabeth BOURGUINAT.

To obtain this article, you can :

• download it for free in French (PDF help) or contact ecopar@paris.ensmp.fr (Reference IN260109).

The entire article appears in French in the Journal de l'École de Paris du management N° 78.